“Alex was doing what he loved to do”

[Steve]

You still are not saying under what conditions it is acceptable to engage in high risk behavior while understanding the risk.

You are correct. I am not saying that. The thread is discussing a particular person. I think this particular person’s family obligations superseded his desire to engage in high risk behaviour. I think he was stupid not to recognize that.

 

[Steve]

His daredevil years must have been great. Why else would he do it?

Financially, his family will probably be better off than most, and time heals emotional scars. Let's not act as if he left them destitute and doomed his children to lifelong mental problems.

So he likely had something less than 28 great years. I agree.

Dad’s dead, but at least we have his money! Great.

In what way are you qualified to determine the lifelong mental effects on his children of having, at a young and impressionable age, their father die a violent death? A death that could easily have been avoided but for his selfishness.

 

[qayak]

You still are not saying under what conditions it is acceptable to engage in high risk behavior while understanding the risk.

For adults the rule is: Whenever the **** you want to.

 

[Meadmaker]

So he likely had something less than 28 great years. I agree.

Dad’s dead, but at least we have his money! Great.

In what way are you qualified to determine the lifelong mental effects on his children of having, at a young and impressionable age, their father die a violent death? A death that could easily have been avoided but for his selfishness.

Well, let's be fair. None of us are qualified to determine the mental effects on his children, whether those effects be good or ill.

It's hard to express what Olmstead is getting at, but I get it. I think the biggest thing we do as parents is provide an example. His kids will grow up knowing that their dad was someone who took unnecessary risks, but enjoyed life and was unafraid. There are worse things you could do.

 

[qayak]

This the way you wanna go, dying while doing something physically daredevilish that you just love to do when you might have experienced the same virtually with a video game and not ended up with broken bones?

Are you seriously suggesting you get the same rush from playing a video game as you do skydiving?

Do you suppose that the difference between you and people like him is the fact that opening a jar or pickles gives you a rush while it takes just a little more on the danger scale to do it for him? And if you do get into the exciting sport of pickle jar opening no one would take notice so if you happen to die doing it no one will know, or care. On the other hand he is was known and now he is known around the world.

Some people are just not cut out to be pickle jar heroes. Some want to actually live before they die.

 

[Steve]

Well, let's be fair. None of us are qualified to determine the mental effects on his children, whether those effects be good or ill.

It's hard to express what Olmstead is getting at, but I get it. I think the biggest thing we do as parents is provide an example. His kids will grow up knowing that their dad was someone who took unnecessary risks, but enjoyed life and was unafraid. There are worse things you could do.

I think it is a reasonable assumption that the death of a young child’s parent is rarely a good thing. A sudden and violent death even more so.

As a parent I always tried to do the best that I possibly could for my daughter. If I had ever caught myself thinking “Well, I could have done worse, so it’s all good” I would have been ashamed of myself.

 

[shemp]

I love ice cream. I don't want to die from hitting a hill of it at 100 m.p.h.

 

[Athyrio]

Are you seriously suggesting you get the same rush from playing a video game as you do skydiving?

Yes. I've seen enough videos of gamers in action to believe that. Besides, that "rush" quickly becomes a memory.

Do you suppose that the difference between you and people like him is the fact that opening a jar or pickles gives you a rush while it takes just a little more on the danger scale to do it for him? And if you do get into the exciting sport of pickle jar opening no one would take notice so if you happen to die doing it no one will know, or care. On the other hand he is was known and now he is known around the world.

Don't know how to measure that. He did have almost 10 thousand followers on IG, and had some 3700 FB friends and 800 or so followers there, which is 100% more than I have, but I had never heard of him and I believe he will be quickly forgotten. I certainly would not want to be famous for dying Darwinly. As for being known around the world, a lot of good that does for his ego now.

Some people are just not cut out to be pickle jar heroes. Some want to actually live before they die.

I understand that there are people who are compelled to manufacture their "rushes" in order to feel like they are "living", but stunt riding? Too physically devastating upon the body. Should have toned down his appetite for a rush.

I will never equate reckless and dangerous activities with "living".

 

[dirtywick]

This aphorism has always bothered me. I told my wife to never eulogize me by using that line.

Do you know what Alex enjoyed more than doing what he loved? Being alive. You have to be alive to do what you love.

Also, RIP Alex.

It's grieving people trying to make sense of a senseless death, I think it's OK to cut them some slack.

 

[dirtywick]

Yes. I've seen enough videos of gamers in action to believe that. Besides, that "rush" quickly becomes a memory.

Video games can be intense, but I don't think the rush is comparable to being in an actual life and death situation. If a guy is chasing that rush, he'll never find it in a video game.

 

[mgidm86]

Driving 70 mph without a helmet, something many of us do every day, is highly dangerous. It's pretty stupid really when putting on a helmet would save your life in most crashes. Most auto deaths are from head injuries. Who's stupid again?

 

[Steve]

Driving 70 mph without a helmet, something many of us do every day, is highly dangerous. It's pretty stupid really when putting on a helmet would save your life in most crashes. Most auto deaths are from head injuries. Who's stupid again?

I think anyone claiming an equivalence (you are not really, are you? ) would need to provide statistics comparing commuter deaths (say, per mile driven) to professional daredevil deaths (say, per jump). Or something other that is an equivalence. I suspect driving would prove to be the safer activity.

Actually, I do not know the cause of this guys death, but if he hit with enough force to throw his helmet off as described I suspect his helmet staying on would not have saved him.

 

[angrysoba]

Hmmm…. Not sure if what is being said here is entirely fair

He is a stunt driver, right? It is pretty much his job to be doing this kind of thing, isn’t it?

 

[Steve]

Hmmm…. Not sure if what is being said here is entirely fair

He is a stunt driver, right? It is pretty much his job to be doing this kind of thing, isn’t it?

Yep. He chose a job where the chances of being killed, or seriously hurt, are much higher than practically any other job. The odds caught up with him and now his children are deprived of a parent.

 

[angrysoba]

Yep. He chose a job where the chances of being killed, or seriously hurt, are much higher than practically any other job. The odds caught up with him and now his children are deprived of a parent.

There's risk involved in everything.

It seems he was a stunt driver before he had a wife and kids. Either you give up your livelihood and find another job that might be lower paying (something most people are not that willing to do when they start a family and increase their outgoings), or you decide that the risk is acceptable.

Sure, it is dangerous, but there are soliders with families, firefighters with families, loggers with families, police officers with families, war correspondents with families, astronauts with families etc... and yes stuntpeople with families.

Unless we are drawing a line and saying, "On this side it is unnacceptable risk to have a family and continue your work...." in which case instead of just providing the hot take, "How irresponsible! That dead guy should be ashamed!" I would like to see the person making the head-shaking indignant commentary show their workings.

 

[plague311]

I don't know that he left his family with all that much money (it has got to be tough to get life insurance for a stunt driver I'd think). The article I read said that they had opened up a gofundme and it was in the area of USD$45-50k. He also did farm work so stunt riding wasn't his own source of income, he had others. He was trying to break the record, but he also held a world record for a different form of jump.

All in all it sucks to hear he died, but there's definitely a lot of truth to saying the death was easily avoidable. I feel bad for his family. If his wife is anything like mine I'm positive she told him multiple times she didn't like him doing it. Sucks to be right sometimes.

 

[CORed]

I'm sure his last thoughts, as it became clear he'd hit the berm head on, were, "Man, I'm loving this!!!"

Well, either that or "Oh **** !"

 

[angrysoba]

I don't know that he left his family with all that much money (it has got to be tough to get life insurance for a stunt driver I'd think). The article I read said that they had opened up a gofundme and it was in the area of USD$45-50k. He also did farm work so stunt riding wasn't his own source of income, he had others. He was trying to break the record, but he also held a world record for a different form of jump.

All in all it sucks to hear he died, but there's definitely a lot of truth to saying the death was easily avoidable. I feel bad for his family. If his wife is anything like mine I'm positive she told him multiple times she didn't like him doing it. Sucks to be right sometimes.

If she felt that, she shouldn't have married a stunt driver.

 

[plague311]

If she felt that, she shouldn't have married a stunt driver.

The heart wants what the heart wants. You can love a person and not like some of their actions or decisions.

 

[angrysoba]

The heart wants what the heart wants. You can love a person and not like some of their actions or decisions.

I get it, but I would strongly dissauade anyone who came up to me and asked me if this is a good plan:

Step 1. Marry someone
Step 2. Change them
Step 3. Happiness!

Of course, things also can go wrong if you marry a stunt driver, support their decision and then they get killed, but hey, sometimes life is about taking risks.